1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a method of operating a wireless device. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of controlling the transmission and reception of data between a wireless device and a host according to the power state of the wireless device.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional wireless devices (e.g., cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, GPS devices, etc.) perform wireless communication of data with a host using one or more communication protocols, such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, Bluetooth, Infrared Data Association (irDA), Wireless Universal Serial Bus (WUSB), etc. The quality (e.g., transmission range, signal-to-noise ratio, etc.) of the communicated data is product of many factors, including the power state of the wireless device. Unlike devices receiving power from hardwired electrical mains, portable wireless devices operate using an internal power supply, such as a battery. Thus, the available operating period for a wireless device is limited by its power state.
Most conventional wireless devices include a shut-down mechanism and corresponding control protocol that terminates operation of the wireless device once available power from the internal power supply fails below a detected threshold. However, shut-down operations may terminate wireless device operation during data transmission or reception. Under such circumstances, not only may the data being communicated be lost or corrupted, but also certain internal files associated with the ongoing communication may be lost within the wireless device.